Tooth-brush attachment.



T. R. PLANK.

TOOTH BRUSH ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION FILED MAR-22,1916.

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5g. m rmmu THEODORE R. BLANK, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

TOOTH-BRUSH ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11916.

Application filed March 22, 1916. Serial No. 85,882.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE R. PLANK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tooth- Brush Attachments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an attachment to be used on tooth brushes, and the objects of my invention are: first, to provide a device for massaging the gums at the same time the teeth are being brushed with the bristles of the brush; second, to provide a resilient cover for the hard portion of the brush end for protecting the gums from being bruised and injuredby said hard portion of the brush; third, to provide such attachment that will hold the water and tooth powder among the brush bristles; fourth, to provide such an attachment which is simple, economical of construction, durable, easily applied to the tooth brush and fifth, to provide such an attachment that is applicable to the different makes and shapes of tooth brushes.

With these and other objects in view as will appear hereinafter my invention consists of the certain novel construction and arrangement of portions as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference thereon which form a part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a tooth brush showing a sectional longitudinal view of my attachmentrmounted thereon. Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a tooth brush showing my attachment mounted thereon, in elevation. Fig. 3 is a sectional view through A-B of Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the brush showing the bristles extending upwardly and showing my attachment mounted thereon. A

Similar characters of reference refer to similar portions of my attachment throughout the several views.

My attachment consists of a resilient covering for the brush end, and is prefer ably of rubber. It is provided with a portion 1 adapted to fit over the body of the portion holding the bristles adapted to prevent this body portion from bruising and lacerating the gums. It is provided in one end with an aperture 2 adapted to be stretched over the handle of the brush in placing it in position and fits tightly around the handle making it practically water tight. From this portion 1 the body portion 3 extends upwardly, fitting closely the outside bristles of the brush and it extends upwardly to approximately flush with the ends of the bristles of the brush. The upper edge is reinforced at 4 to provide a broadened surface for contacting with the gums while brushing the teeth for massaging said gums. It will be noted that this attachment is practically water tight when placed on the brush in position for use as shown in the drawings therefore any water or powder placed on the bristles of the brush in this attachment will be retained therein. It will also be noted that this attachment is readily removed from the brush for cleaning or sterilizing both the brush and the attachment.

It is obvious that with this attachment there is provided a means to be used in connection with tooth-brushes that will protect the gums from being bruised and lacerated by the hard portion of the brush contacting therewith, that the broadened surface 4 provides a widened surface for massaging the gums while the teeth are being brushed and end thereof adapted to be stretched tightly over the handle whereby said cover is made water tight.-

3. In an attachment for tooth brushes, a

' resilient cover inclosing the end of the bristle end of the tooth brush, and the bristles therein, provided with an aperture in one end adapted to be stretched over the handle of the brush providing a tight fit and a broad- 

